It is the Mission of the Nebraska Family Forum (NFF) to promote education policies in our state that preserve and protect parental authority and the integrity of the family. In so doing, we will preserve the cooperative and respectful relationship between school authorities and parents, preserve a family-centered community, and provide a well-rounded education for our kids.

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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Defending Families in the Omaha Metro: Douglas County Commissioners Meeting

By: Stephanie Morgan and Ann Summers

The Difference Your Story Makes

Yesterday, at a public hearing before county officials and press, the voices of mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, and other concerned taxpaying citizens were heard. The hearing on the signing of this so-called Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) followed a lengthy discussion on the difficulties the commissioners face in balancing the Douglas County budget. During the discussion, many questions were asked of local administrators of county health and correctional facilities regarding how the county budget is being spent and what evidence and factual research supports its policies and expenditures. In our county commission, we saw a firm intention to keep taxes down, and to be accountable for the budget.

As discussion shifted to the MOU, Judge Crnkovich took the podium and opened with the statement that she was glad she “wasn’t up there to discuss the budget,” and with that she proceeded to advocate for the MOU and the GOALS Initiative. I thought how ironic it was that the GOALS Initiative and the Boards acceptance of the MOU was certainly about the budget, and require the spending of taxpayer money on a policy that is driven by dangerous assumptions.

Judge Crnkovich said that many families have been helped by the new focus on reducing truancy, though she shared no specific examples. She said that the GOALS Initiative is simply about getting services to families who need them and it is completely voluntary. A statement that Stephanie Morgan countered in the opening statement for the opposition by saying, "This program is not voluntary! Changes to the state statute in 2010 added broad prosecutorial powers that allow the County Attorney to become involved at any stage in the process to address excessive absenteeism. Judge Crnkovich told parents at a truancy meeting in Millard that this was a needed "hammer" to compel parents to cooperate." At the same meeting last spring Judge Crnkovich hinted at the formation of the GOALS Initiative which was already in the planning stages.

The public hearing opened up to citizen comments, and again and again, the point was made that these policies have little support, make little sense, and indeed, create more problems for families than they solve. The testimonies in opposition began with Stephanie Morgan who introduced the Nebraska Family Policy Forum and our goals to amend Nebraska's truancy law that lead to the GOAL Initiative. Brenda Vosik, took the stand to counter one of the guiding principles of GOALS and said, "the statement that, 'school attendance is the single most important element to the student’s ability to learn and be successful in school and life' is simply not true." Melanie Smotherman, the director of Family Advocacy Movement, and James L. Holt a licenced social worker spoke to the reality that all parents struggle occasionally to meet their children's needs but this Initiative is not the way to go about helping families. Ann Summers challenged the idea that correlation is causation and countered the idea that there is "a strong correlation between early truancy, continued academic and behavioral problems, eventual school dropout and delinquent behavior development."

Perhaps Judge Liz Crnkovich was surprised at the overwhelming opposition to the "plan" present at the meeting. Parent after parent took the podium in opposition of the GOALS Initiative, the memo that supports it, and the law that created it. After public testimony, Commissioner Chris Rodgers, chair of juvenile court, defended the MOU. He seemed reluctant to drive home his support because he wanted all of the parents present (including those that brought their small children and waited two hours to speak) to know that he understood their concerns.

Commissioner Rodgers likened a child's school attendance to an adult showing up for work on time, taking only the granted vacations days and sick days and said the his father never missed a day of work in his life. He also said that at the heart of the issue is one of control, he then proceeded to explain that schools have control of kids when they are at school and said that he personally "submits" his "kids to the control of the school district between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m." daily. He made it clear that he personally would not take his child out of school for an extra day to accompany his family on a vacation or other trip that might provide a learning experience. He said it just comes down to the fact that kids need to be in school. This clearly echoes the governor’s statement that, “If children aren’t in school, they aren’t learning.”

Mr. Rodgers is falling into the trap that so many people do... he is deciding that what is best for him and his family must be best for everyone's family. The difference between the normal and natural inclination to think that way for all of us, and Mr. Rodgers, is that he has the power to force his "paradigm" as you called it on the rest of us through the nature of his position of power. So while we might sometimes think our way superior we generally accept that we can do nothing to force others to do it our way and move on.Those in positions of power are often tempted to use that power to "correct" what they believe to be irresponsible or inappropriate behavior in others through policy.

Commissioner Rodgers said that he follows the blog and could not support repeal of the law and yet the NFPF has not called for repeal for outright repeal of the law. Not one citizen who spoke in opposition of the memo supported truancy. Some protested the abuse of the term “truant” which has been redefined to include excused absences, and Commissioner Rodgers stated that he agreed this was a problem and that the law might need to be “tweaked” for these cases, since it allows no exception for them.

Some commenters asserted that learning did not have to take place in school, and again, we saw how this law affects conscientious parents who care for and tend their children’s education both in and out of the classroom, but these policies allow no exception for them. A few speakers avowed that these truancy policies are based on a basic misuse of statistical data that shows a correlation or relationship between truancy and poor academic performance (and the reverse) but no clear causation, and that policy should not be based on the suggestion of causation, but on real data to back it up.

Commissioner Rodgers stated that if we were to go down to the juvenile detention we could “see a correlation,” which merely reinforces the fact that he still misunderstands. Showing that some children who are absent also have juvenile records in no way proves that absences cause poor academic performance. But the policy allows no exception for these facts.

‎Mary Ann Stock Borgeson, was a real champion for freedom, common sense and families. She stated that she believed this memo represents “a case of government overreaching” its boundaries, and that these policies went too far. She paused proceedings several times to acknowledge the school groups of children who came to see their government in action, and she asked at the end of the hearing, “Why are school-sanctioned trips okay, but parents cannot get the same permission to take trips with their own children?” She was clearly referring not only to the memo, but to LB800.

There were several people who tried to separate the MOU under discussion from the law, including County Attorney Don Kleine, who came in toward the end of public testimonies. But Chairman Borgeson challenged them and rightly so, saying that the law and the MOU cannot be separated because one begat the other. I have been impressed with Commissioner Borgeson throughout the months we have been fighting to restore parental authority, but yesterday she received applause from the audience several times!

From listening to the comments of the commissioners it became clear that they are following the NFPF blog and reading the stories and open letters published here. These stories are having an impact. Arguments against the research or foundation of the policies were important but even more crucial were all the citizens with simply worded stories about how this law is hurting their families.

Members of our forum have been told often that the most powerful thing we are doing right now is sharing these personal stories. I have been told this by those officials who support an amendment to the law. I know that the Governor and his advisers are aware of what we are saying here. I am grateful to all those who have put their personal stories and thoughts on the website for everyone to see, and I am grateful for everyone who came and shared them at the meeting. The fight has only begun and we need to keep up the pressure on public officials.

It is important to note that every public official that has been asked to add their support to the mission and goals of the GOAL Initiative has signed the MOU except for the Douglas County Board of Commissioners and the Elkhorn Police Department. We need to send letters to everyone who signed this document and express our disappointment and letters to those who have not yet signed it expressing our support.

County Attorney, Don Kleine, who put his signature to the MOU in October, agreed that the law needed to be "tweaked" but mentioned only the need for "documented illness" to be more clearly defined as excused. He did approach our group, however, and clearly stated that he wanted to help. In testimony, he spoke to the difficult spot the legislature has put him in by dumping 3400 truancy cases into his office last year with an unfunded mandate. He assured parents that "No one is being prosecuted", but instead are being handled by the "truancy task force".

I believe that at this time he supports the GOALS Initiative not only because of his clear support for the MOU, but because he believes that the GOALS team will prevent cases from hitting the 20 day threshold, which would keep them out of his court house. He stayed after the meeting in the hall to talk to as many parents as he could, and expressed his desire to meet with our group and answer our questions.

What we saw at this hearing was very hopeful, and indicates strongly that doing the work we are doing is getting the notice and consideration of officials. But we must not stop. We must continue to keep communications open, bring forth our stories and share them, and inundate the legislators and government officials at all levels with the firm belief that this legislation and its offshoots are bad for school-policies, bad for Nebraska, and very bad for its families.

1 comment:

I watched the meeting on Cox Cable. It was gratifying to hear Board members speak common sense! Commissioner Mike Boyle, who spoke of his five children and eighteen grandchildren, said it well. "My children and their spouses are fully capable of deciding when their children need to be out of school. THEY are responsible, not the State!" Thanks, to Mike Boyle

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The Personal Impact of Nebraska's School Attendance Law

We began collecting stories in April of 2011 and will continue to collect them as long as the law is abused. The stories we have collected demonstrate how our community has been impacted by Nebraska's school attendance law that counts all absences rather than "unexcused" absences for purposed of "truancy".

It may seem by the district by district breakdown that the law has impacted Millard Public Schools the most, but it is important to note that the Nebraska Family Forum grew out of the Millard Parent Society and therefore the awareness within Millard Public Schools is longstanding.

Out of the 3000+ cases referred to the Douglas County Attorney last year only 400 came from MPS. For every story collected here it is reasonable to assume that they represent dozens more who are affected who have not written their thoughts in a public way.

The Facebook Effect

Nebraska Family Forum: What we Stand For

Mission:

It is the Mission of the Nebraska Family Forum (NFF) to promote education policies in our state that preserve and protect parental authority and the integrity of the family. In so doing, we will preserve the cooperative and respectful relationship between school authorities and parents, preserve a family-centered community, and provide a well-rounded education for our kids.

NFF Guiding Principles:

Family is Key: We believe the family is the single most important element to a child’s ability to learn and be successful in school and life, and parents are the foundation upon which family success rests. For this reason, it’s imperative that the state honor the authority of parents as they exercise their natural rights, obligations, and responsibilities to raise, manage, direct, and educate their children.

Freedom in Education is essential: We believe that flexibility in education, school choice, stimulating curriculum, quality teachers, and innovative education reforms are essential to a family centered education. We support policies that will lead to greater parental influence in education innovation, curriculum, and choice.

Family struggles are a healthy part of life: We believe that the fundamental right of a parent does not cease to exist simply because a parent may fail to be a model parent. Parents often struggle to meet the needs of their children, but this is not in itself sufficient cause for unwanted and unwarranted government intrusion into family life. We join with Father Steven Boes of Boys Town in "proclaiming that not only are there no bad boys, as Father Flanagan taught, but there are no bad families.” There is always at least one person in a family that wants what is best for their children and is willing to ask for and receive the help they need.

Government Intrusion can be Harmful: We believe that the right of parents to raise their children without undue government interference is a fundamental liberty that has long been protected by the Constitution of the United States and is not void upon the enrollment of ones child in a public school. We warn that governments who seek to micro-manage the everyday choices of parents in pursuit prescribed outcomes, will do great harm to the integrity of the family and by extension, the well-being of children and society as a whole.

Mother… I think of all the lessons she has modeled for me throughout my life in topics from boys to academia to love in and of family to the meaning of true success… now I heed her lessons in balancing my life, work and passions. All the while, she is my teacher, one with the honored and sacred name of Mother.

Who ran to help me when I fell, And would some pretty story tell, Or kiss the place to make it well? My mother.

The Simple Truths

Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves. ~ Ernest Dimnet

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. ~ Oscar Wilde

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. ~ William Butler Yeats

Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. ~ B. F. Skinner

Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. ~ G. M. Trevelyan

Every educated person is a future enemy. ~ Martin Bormann

I prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly. ~ Michel de Montaigne

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. ~ Mark Twain

It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense. ~ Robert Green Ingersoll

Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants. ~ John W. Gardner

No man who worships education has got the best out of education... Without a gentle contempt for education no man's education is complete. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding. ~ Ezra Pound

The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. ~ Robert M. Hutchins

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. ~ Albert Einstein

To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks. ~ A. A. Milne

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. ~ Albert Einstein

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. ~ Abraham Lincoln

My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. ~aya Angelou

Dad kept us out of school, but school comes and goes. Family is forever.

I hated school. Even to this day, when I see a school bus it's just depressing to me. The poor little kids. ~ Dolly Parton

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters. ~George Herbert

Dad kept us out of school, but school comes and goes. Family is forever.

"The amount of freedom to which a person is entitled is strictly measured by the amount of freedom he is willing to allow his fellow man." ~ Verlan Andersen

"You complain of bad city government. It is ultimately the fault of the people themselves if it is bad... In no way can you bring about decency in your Government so quickly as by backing up the men (and women) who represent your interests, rewarding those who are faithful and punishing those who fail in their duty." ~ Theodore Roosevelt